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Rotherham 1 Middlesbrough 0: Five things we learned

Rotherham's quest for survival received a further shot in the arm on Tuesday with a smash-and-grab 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.It was their second successive win against a promotion-chasing side and a third in total - the first time they have managed such a feat at this level since 2003.

Lee Frecklington's late goal earned the points after a Boro barrage in the first half.Here's five things we learned from the game.Missed chances cost you!How refreshing that, for a change, it was actually Rotherham that were the beneficiaries of some wayward finishing. For the majority of their return to the second tier the Millers have been hamstrung by an inability to take their chances and have usually been punished for it. However, the boot was on the other foot on Tuesday as they somehow survived a Boro barrage in the first half where the promotion chasers could easily have been three or four goals to the good. David Nugent was the guilty party with two embarrassing misses while Gaston Ramirez can consider himself unlucky after the post denied him from a superb free-kick while he whistled a second effort just wide. Everyone was scratching their head as to how the Millers were still on parity at half-time, but it was a different story after the break with a very happy ending for the men in red and white as Frecklington struck late on to steal the points.Millers with the momentum

Pardon
the Steve Evansism but as we drove away from Reading a fortnight ago,
only the most optimistic of Millers fans could see some light at the
end of the tunnel. They had just drifted six points adrift of safety
after a flat showing and there was no sign of the Neil Warnock factor
coming into effect, having failed to score a goal in his first three
games. Fast forward to his next three games and the picture could not
be more different as nine points later, the Millers are suddenly
within striking distance of safety. Somehow Warnock has galvanised
his men and got them believing that safety is a possibility, perhaps
even a certainty. There's still work to do as frustratingly nine
points from nine has still not been enough to climb out of the bottom
three as MK Dons have steadily picked up points, but the outlook
is so much brighter. The confidence and the momentum the Millers have
can only stand them in good stead.

Lee Frecklington loves an important goal

A
promotion-clincher against Aldershot, a winner against Sheffield
Wednesday, the effort that secured promotion against Reading – Lee
Frecklington certainly knows how to score important goals for
Rotherham. And he was at it again against Boro, sealing a win that
could turn out to be vital at the end of the season. The midfielder
had not been enjoying his most effective game but there was no one
else you would have wanted to see arriving in the box late to meet
Jonson Clarke-Harris' cut back and the manner of the goal underlies
his importance to the side. It is no coincidence that his three games
back from injury have resulted in three wins as no other Miller can
provide his box-to-box energy and willing. That relentless stamina
has allowed him to score five Millers goals after the 85th
minute that have affected the scoreline and Tuesday's might just be
the most important.

Upsetting the odds

Most
people would have needed a stiff drink after reading March's
fixtures, but perhaps there was no need for such worry. After all,
it's been against the top teams this season that the Millers have
produced their best stuff. Indeed, the win against Boro was the sixth
against teams currently in the top nine, with Cardiff, Birmingham,
Hull, Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday all slayed by the Millers
sword. It has been the games against teams at the bottom that have
proved problematic. Warnock chuntered "another easy one on
Saturday, chuffing Derby" as he walked out of the press room on
Tuesday. Secretly, he might just be pleased that another top side lay
in wait for his side given their record. Warnock predicted his side
could be a coupon-buster this month and so far he's proving to be
right.

Scoring first = win!

Rotherham's
ability to pick up enough points to secure survival could depend on
their power to take the lead in their remaining 10 games. That's
because so far this season when they break the deadlock, they go on
to win 77 per cent of the time. On the 13 occasions from their 36
games that they have scored first they have managed to convert 10 of
them into wins. That highlights just how important it was that they
survived Boro's first-half onslaught without conceding as they have
yet to win after falling behind in games. One of Neil Redfearn's
strongest messages was always the importance of scoring first and if
they can continue to do that under Warnock, then things are looking
positive.